A truely great, truely American novel

books:

	• A Man You Could Love John Callahan Fulcrum Publishing, 2007 - 472 pages average customer review:based on 8 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A truely great, truely American novel

Read it! A terrific Story! In this first novel John Callahan has deftly crafed a story of friendship amist the American politics of last 40 years. His wonderful ear for the tone and dialect of spoken American gives added density to his clear concise writting style; and rich texture to the main characters and supporting cast as well. The descriptions of the Pacifc Northwest, Washington DC, and the campaign stops along the way underscore the unique American Experience, but the themes of Love, Friendship, Committment, Loyalty and Faith are universal.

My only regret is that I do not have another John Callahan novel to read yet. I only hope that I won't have to wait until the Juneteenth of some far off year for the next one. Bravo!

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What a great, great read

John Callahan, professor of humanities at Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon, and former running mate of Senator Eugene McCarthy in his presidential campaign in Oregon, has used his wit, his educational background and his political experiences to write a thoroughly engrossing novel. Besides the political angle, he creates believably likeable characters that value friendship, family, love and integrity.

Gabe Bontempo first meets Mick Whelan at the civil rights march on Washington in 1963. From there, they continue to run into each other as political operatives--Bontempo working for the 1968 presidential campaign of Bobby Kennedy and Whelen working for the campaign of Eugene McCarthy. Neither campaign went the way the characters hoped, but they grew to be friends when Whelen decides to run for Congress from Oregon and asks Bontempo to manage his campaign. Together, they learn the real ropes in Washington, D.C.

They work on legislation that invokes both anti-war and environmentalist stands--forging political connections and making political enemies as well as networks of supporters. Yet, as they are doing this, they are also loving their wives and raising young families. They have to deal with death, divorce and heartache as well as the adulation and press notoriety that comes with increasing fame.

Whelen is the mover and shaker within the book, but Bontempo is the man behind the "man you could love." While Whelen is a Congressman and later a Senator and even a Presidential candidate, his friend Gabe is the one he confides in and the one who smoothes the way for his many appearances. It is hard to say if Gabe Bontempo really has a life of his own, but as the narrator of the story, he knows all the angles.

The book is fiction, but as in all good historical or political fiction, it is sometimes hard to tell where the truth leaves off and the story begins. According to Callahan, everyone in the book is fictitious, but they sound and feel like the real thing.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and highly recommend it.

Armchair Interviews says: Fact or fiction? Regardless, it is a 5-star read.

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A wonderful 5-star read!

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A wonderful read

After hearing about this book on a blog, I ordered it, and when I got around to reading it, I was shocked and pleasantly surprised about how good it was, because I had never heard a thing about it before.

A deep, moving novel about the life of a political activist, a man who rises along with his friend in the world of politics.

An absolute must read for political junkies.

Read This Book!

John Callahan, literary executor for Ralph Ellison, and the man who completed Ellison's second novel, Junteenth, is a brilliant scholar and wonderful storyteller. In his first novel, Callahan's wisdom, wit and deep understanding of the values and politics that have shaped our country all come through. This is an author who must have many stories to tell, so let's hope that A Man You Could Love receives the attention and reviews it deserves. Bravo!

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reviews: page 1, 2

From the forests of the Pacific Northwest to the power corridors of Washington, D.C., this powerful novel stretches across the tumult of the 1960s to the disputed 2000 presidential election as it chronicles the life of a crusading politician and, in the process, the coming of age and loss of innocence of a generation. A Man You Could Love follows the lives of Gabe Bontempo, a savvy political strategist, and Mick Whelan, a young, idealistic candidate from Oregon. Together they weather decades of political upheaval from the civil rights and Vietnam era into the 1990s, while facing personal crises of their own. This ambitious, absorbing first novel offers a fresh look at Washington politics, the thrills and surprises of the campaign trail, and the ongoing complexities of war, as well as a touching tribute to friendship and families--the ones you are born into and those you find along the way.

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